[pandemic]

Was anyone who has traveled to Kaz freaked out at all by the amount of cash you need to bring? How do you transport it - money belt, in your pockets, carry-on, etc.?

Also, is there a requirement to declare the cash as you enter the country? Is there any record of theives preying on adoptive parents, knowing they are required to bring cash with them?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[hml1976]

I've never heard of anyone being robbed. I've heard of customs agents asking for bribes but you can say no, there's nothing they can do. Just make sure you don't take a ride with anyone not from your agency (ours actually uses a password so we know its them). Split the money between you and your partner and you probably won't need to declare it. Kaz is a cash-based society and the oil company businessmen apparently travel with ALOT more of it than adoptive parents.

[Mich71]

It took us a while to get comfortable with all that cash. We split the money between us. I wore a money belt under my dress and my husband wore a money pouch that hung around his neck, the cord was hidden by his t-shirt. We only kept out what we needed in my purse and his wallet. If we needed more we had to make a trip to the bathroom : )

We did not have any problems with customs in Astana.
We did declare how much we had but I am not sure it was needed. Your agency should let you know what is needed.

Best of Luck
Michelle

[JenniferKaz]

The first week or so we wore the money belt everywhere. Then we started to split the $$$$ up in teh apt when we left-- some in teh cereal box, some in teh 'feminine item' box, some in the fridge, etc.

Just remeber where you put the $$$$.

I did hear of a MAPS family getting their apt robbed in Astana last fall/winter. It sounded a bit fishy. We didn't have any concerns with our apt with the 3 or 4 locked doors.

[stella1]

Hi,
We split it between us and wore money belts under our clothes. My husband carried the larger amount and declared it, I carried under what you had to declare.
In Almaty my husband got pulled out of line by customs and taken to a room where everyone going thru could see. (Total glass wall.) They asked to see the money. He said I will have to undo my pants and they said okay. So he dropped his pants right there, pulled out the money. Put it on the desk, pulled his pants back up. They said OK. (Just looked at money I don't think they even touched it.) He pulled his pants back down, put money back in and left. It was so funny to me. (Not to him at the time, but now he laughs too.) Because here I am not hearing anything but seeing my husband drop his pants in front of a lady behind a desk and with 2 men with machine guns beside him. But again it was nothing fishy or illegal about it and everyone was really nice.
We always kept our money with us. You unload so much at the beginning of your trip. So we just took turns wearing the money belt ever day. We never ventured out really without our translator or driver, so we did not really fear any problems with them being with us. I might have felt weird walking the streets alone with that type of money, but really I would feel just as uneasy about it if I was walking in downtown Atlanta.
So don't stress it too much. We did as everyone else does, but in the end it all worked out just fine.